ON TO THE FINALS!!!

For the past three weeks or more the inhabitants of the beautiful twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago have been privy to some world class football. They have been the hosts of the 2010 edition of the FIFA Under 17 Women’s World Cup. This world cup has been a revelation of sorts; the female game has well and truly closed the gap on their male counterparts.

The semi final between Japan and Korea DPR epitomizes the high levels that these girls play the game at today. Technically both teams were very sound. I dare say that they were technically superior to most men’s teams out there today. The vision, patience and overall team work displayed by these two teams was exceptional. The mental strength of these girls was also on show, with Japan conceding early on and still rallying back to win 2-1 on the night.

The finals of this tournament is gearing up to be a firecracker. Apart from being an all Asian encounter, both the Japanese girls and the Koreans are gunning to lift that trophy. Both teams are technically sound and very attacking in nature. But it stands to be seen if the Japanese precision can cut through the Korean resolve.

Hiroshi Yoshida, Japan coach

I am very happy that my girls have done enough to move through to the final. We had a tough time today, and I have a sore throat from trying to yell over all of the drums in the stands! I knew we had a chance to win this match and I am happy with the way my team played and obviously with the result. I am very satisfied with the way my entire team performed, but especially my attackers. It was important that we scored quickly after going down and this started everything moving for us.

Choi Duck-Joo, Korea Republic coach

Spain made it very difficult for us to begin with because they’re very skilful at keeping the ball and that meant we struggled to play our usual game. We fell behind but managed to come back and I’m very grateful to the players for the effort they showed in doing that. We were able to keep Sampedro and Pinel, their most dangerous players, under close guard.